Instagram Introduces New Tools to Promote Safety and Kindness

Instagram can be a fun social media tool for people to share about their lives and hobbies, but with 500 million active users each day, it can become a scary place. This is why Instagram is introducing new tools to help keep its platform a safe and positive place for people to share. The company is introducing comment controls, anonymous reporting for Live Video, and some new kindness walls and stickers.

With the update, public profiles can finally control who can comment on their posts. If your Instagram profile is public, you can choose who can comment on your posts be it everyone to just groups of people, to people you follow and those who follow you. On top of that, whether your account is public or private, you will be able to block other accounts from commenting on your posts. Instagram is also expanding its filter to block offensive comments to support additional languages including Arabic, French, German and Portuguese.

As for Live Videos, if you see someone going through a difficult time or is in need of support during a live broadcast, you may report it to Instagram anonymously. The person filming the live broadcast will see a message offering them help be it to talk to a helpline, reach out to a friend, or get other tips and support. This is available 24/7 around the world.

Finally, Instagram also wants to promote kindness in its platform with #KindComments.

“Over the next few months, we’re turning walls in cities around the world into colourful murals inspiring #KindComments. Visit a wall, take a photo or video and share a #KindComments to make someone’s day. You can also participate by using new kindness-themed heart-shaped sticker. Both the murals and stickers are created by artists from the global community.”